Throwback to the Future

Snowboarding has played a huge part in the fifty-year history of Breckenridge Resort, something the ski area plans to acknowledge this weekend with the Rockstar Throwback Throwdown. "Breck was the first major resort in Colorado to allow snowboarding, and in 1986 we had one of the first competition halfpipes anywhere," says Breckenridge spokeswoman Austyn Williams. "We now have our 22-foot Olympic-sized Freeway Super Pipe and a great system of terrain parks on the mountain, and the Throwdown is a great nod to that progression over the last 25-plus years."

The event, part of the resort's Spring Fever celebration, will feature both the Freeway Super Pipe and a re-creation of the hand-dug five-foot halfpipe from the 1986 Snowboard World Championships. Throwdown competitors will be limited to spins of no more than 540 degrees of rotation, so the judges will be watching for stylish straight airs, slow spins and alley-oop tricks. (Memo to Shaun White: Leave your double-cork 1260s behind.) "I'm excited to see some massive handplants and some of the weirdest grabs from back in the day," Williams says. The winner will take home a $10,000 purse.

The event is free for spectators. To register to compete, contact Brad Esser at besser@vailresorts.com or 970-453-3233. For a full schedule of Spring Fever events, visit www.breckspringfevercom.
Sat., April 7, 2012